Method and apparatus for displaying sign language images corresponding to text or speech

Abstract: In order to provide an image display method and apparatus capable of displaying images corresponding to document data or speech data, image data (such as sign language images) are stored in an image dictionary in motion picture form. Document data is read out from a character information storage device (or speech data is received), and a sign language image corresponding to a character string of the document data (or the speech) is selected from the image dictionary and displayed on a display.

Description: The present invention relates to an image display method and apparatus for displaying images (e.g. motion pictures) corresponding to voice data or document data, and more particularly, to an image display method and apparatus capable of displaying sign language images corresponding to speech. The addition of voice data (such as a voice, music and the like) to video images has been long performed, and an apparatus which not only reproduces video images but generates sounds related to the images is well known. However, there has been provided no apparatus which generates and displays images corresponding to input document data, voice signals and the like. For example, the contents of a television program are, as is well known, given to deaf persons by superimposing a caption on the screen or displaying the contents of speech in sign language on a part of the screen. However, since such caption and sign language displays incur much trouble and cost in editing, they are, as matters now stand, difficult to carry out. Furthermore, the provision of information in characters, such as a caption, requires the deaf persons to make efforts toward understanding the information and to concentrate their attention on reading the characters. "Deaf-and-Mute Sign Language Generation System", an article by Hideo Kawai and Shinichi Tamura published at pages 199-205 of Vol 18 of Pattern Recognition, describes an apparatus for converting speech/text data into sign language image data for display on a screen. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image display method and apparatus capable of displaying images corresponding to document data or voice data. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for converting text data into sign language image data, comprising: image storage means storing a plurality of image data components, each image data component corresponding to a sign language image component for a respective different one of a plurality of character codes; character code correspondence storage means storing for each of the said plurality of character codes the respective address of the corresponding image data component in the image storage means; means for inputting text data comprising a sequence of character codes; text storage means for storing the input text data; means for sequentially retrieving from the image storage means with reference to the addresses in the character code correspondence storage means image data components corresponding to the sequence of stored character codes stored in the text storage means; and means for controlling a display means to sequentially display respective images corresponding to the retrieved sign language image components, characterised in that the control means is adapted to cause the display means to display the corresponding text data while displaying the sequence of sign language image components. The above structure makes it possible to display sign language images corresponding to document data. Since document data is displayed in a character pattern together with sign language image data, the character pattern and the image data can be ascertained in correspondence. Since image data to be displayed is sign language image data corresponding to a word or a phrase, an easily recognizable image can be provided. Since image data to be displayed may be a motion picture, an easily recognizable image can be provided. The addition of an expansion means for expanding image data allows display image data to be stored under compression, thereby taking less memory. According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling an apparatus to convert text data into sign language image data, said apparatus comprising: image storage means storing a plurality of image data components, each image data component corresponding to a sign language image component for a respective different one of a plurality of character codes; and character code correspondence storage means storing for each of the said plurality of character codes the respective address of the corresponding image data component in the image storage means, said method comprising the steps of: inputting text data comprising a sequence of character codes; sequentially retrieving from the image storage means with reference to the addresses in the character code correspondence storage means stored image data components corresponding to the sequence of input character codes; and generating image output signals corresponding to the sequence of retrieved sign language image components for supply to a display means, characterised in that in said generating step image output signals are generated effective to cause a display means to display the text data while displaying the corresponding sequence of sign language image components. Other objects and features of the present invention will become clear upon reading the following description. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig.1 is a block diagram showing the general structure of an image display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig.2 is a flow chart explaining processing of the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment; Fig.3 is a block diagram showing the general structure of an image display apparatus according to a first illustrative example included for reference purposes and not an embodiment; Fig.4 is a block diagram showing the general structure of an image display apparatus according to a second illustrative example included for reference purposes and not an embodiment; and Fig.5 is a display example of the image display apparatus according to the second illustrative example. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. [Embodiment 1] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the general structure of an image display apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 1, a CPU 1 controls the whole apparatus, and a ROM/RAM 2 comprises a ROM in which a control program of the CPU 1 and various kinds of data are stored, and a RAM which is used as a work area of the CPU 1 and temporarily stores various kinds of data therein. A direct memory access (DMA) controller (DMAC) 3 is used to input and output data by DMA in the ROM/RAM 2, between the ROM/RAM 2 and an input-output 4, or among a character information storage device 5, an image dictionary storage device 6 and an image expansion device 7. The input-output 4 controls the interface between a keyboard 10 (which is operated by an operator to input document data, commands and the like therein) and unillustrated peripheral devices. Text inputted through the input-output 4 is stored in the character information storage device 5 which stores text data in character codes and the like. The image dictionary storage device 6 stores compressed image information corresponding to character information (words, phrases and so on). The image information includes, for example, sign language images (motion pictures) corresponding to words, phrases and so on. The image expansion device 7 expands and outputs the image information compressed and stored in the image dictionary storage device 6. An image output signal processor 8 outputs the expanded image information to a display 9, such as a CRT display. Numeral 10 denotes a CPU bus. In the above structure, character information (character codes) stored in the character information storage device 5 is read out under the control of the CPU 1, and image data stored in the image dictionary storage device 6 is accessed corresponding to the character codes. In this case, the image dictionary storage device 6 stores sign language images corresponding to the character information; that is, words read out from the character information storage device 5. The sign language images may be obtained, for example, by adding motion to images produced by computer graphics or actually photographing persons. The image data stored in the image dictionary storage device 6 is generally compressed because of its massive amount. In order to compress the image data, for example, the standard of Comité Consultatif Internationale Télégraphique et Téléphonique H. 261, Moving Picture Image Coding Experts Group and the like for compressing motion pictures may be used. The image data corresponding to the character information is transmitted to the image expansion device 7 by the DMAC 3. The compressed image data is expanded by the image expansion device 7, converted into video signals by the image output signal processor 8 and displayed on the display 9. A flow chart of Fig. 2 explains the above process. A control program for carrying out the process is stored in the ROM/RAM 2. Document data or various phrases are stored in the character information storage device 5, and the process is started, for example, in response to input of a command to read out the document data from the character information storage device 5 through the keyboard 10. First, the document data is read out from the character information storage device 5 in Step S1, image data corresponding to the read document data, such as character strings, words, phrases and the like, are read out from the image dictionary storage device 6 in Step S2, and the read image data (compressed data) is outputted to the image expansion device 7 in Step S3. The correspondence between the document data and the image data is determined, for example, by reading out storage addresses of the image data corresponding to the document data with reference to a table or the like stored in the ROM/RAM 2. In Step S4, the expanded image data is displayed on the display 9. The steps S1 to S4 are sequentially carried out for character strings, words or phrases constituting the text stored in the character information storage device 5, and obtained images (motion pictures) are sequentially displayed on the display 9, thereby allowing understanding of the text in successive sign language images. As described above, according to the first embodiment, image data corresponding to document data (for example, sign language images corresponding to speech) can be outputted and displayed. Furthermore, if a character pattern generator for generating a character pattern corresponding to a character code is coupled to bus 10, it is possible to display in a part of the display 9 the text stored in the character information storage device 5 in character patterns while displaying sign language images corresponding to the character patterns. This configuration makes it possible to practice sign language and ascertain which part of the text is being displayed in sign language. [First Illustrative Example - included for reference purposes and not an embodiment] Fig.3 is a block diagram showing the general structure of an image display apparatus according to a first illustrative example . Components common to Fig. 1 are denoted by like numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Referring to Fig. 3, a voice signal inputted from a microphone input terminal 11 is amplified by an amplifier 12, inputted to a speech recognizer 13 to be recognized, and converted into a character code with reference to a speech dictionary 14. A storage device 15 stores the voice data recognized in the speech recognizer 13. According to the above structure, the voice signal inputted from the microphone input terminal 11 is amplified by the amplifier 12, and recognized by the speech recognizer 13. The recognized voice data is converted into character data and stored in the storage device 15. The character data stored in the storage device 15 is read out by a CPU 1a, and image data stored in an image dictionary 6 is accessed in correspondence with the read-out character data. The image data related to the character data is transmitted to an image expansion device 7 by DMA under the control of a DMAC 3 in the same manner as described above. The compressed image data is expanded by the image expansion device 7, converted into video signals by an image output signal processor 8, and displayed on a display 9. In this case, character data is sequentially read out from the storage device 15 and image data corresponding to the read-out character data is displayed on the display 9 in the same manner as in the above flow chart of Fig.2. As described above, according to the first illustrative example after an input voice signal is subjected to speech recognition, an image dictionary related to the recognized voice signal (for example, a sign language image) is read out and displayed on the display, thereby making it possible to convert and display voice data into sign language images in real time. [Second Illustrative Example - included for reference purposes and not an embodiment] Fig.4 is a block diagram showing the general structure of an image display apparatus according to a second illustrative example. Components common to Figs.1 and 3 are denoted by like numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Referring to Fig.4, an input terminal 21 for inputting a video signal, a video signal processor 22, an image composer 23 and a video output signal processor 22, an image composer 23 and a video output signal processor 24 are added to the structure shown in Fig.3. As described in the above first illustrative example, a voice signal inputted from a microphone input terminal 11 is recognized and stored in a storage device 15. After that, a compressed image related to the recognized voice signal is read out from an image dictionary storage device 6. The compressed image is device 7, and then transmitted to the image composer 23 through the video output signal processor 24. On the other hand, separately from the image corresponding to the voice signal, a video signal inputted from the video input terminal 21 is transmitted to the image composer 23 through the video signal input processor 22. The image composer 23 composes the inputted video signal and the image read out from the image dictionary storage device 6 (expanded), and outputs a composite on a display 9. If speech inputted from the microphone input terminal 11 and a video signal inputted from the video input terminal 21 are in synchronization with each other in the structure shown in Fig. 4 (for example, a television program with video), since an image outputted from the video output signal processor 24 may lag behind a video signal outputted from the video input signal processor 22, a delay circuit (not shown) may be provided for delaying the video signal inputted from the video signal input terminal 21. Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a composite image obtained in the second illustrative example. Video signals inputted from the video input terminal 21 and sign language images read out from the image dictionary storage device 6 (expanded) are displayed as a composite picture on a main screen 501 and a subscreen 502 of the display 9. As described above according to the second illustrative further expanded by an image expansion example, a sign language image corresponding to speech inputted from, for example, a microphone and video signals inputted from the video input terminal 21 are displayed in composite form, and a television program or the like is displayed on the main screen 501 while displaying sign language images corresponding to the sound of the television program on the subscreen 502. Therefore, deaf persons can also enjoy the television program. In the above embodiment and illustrative examples, a speech synthesis device may be added for synthesizing speech inputted from the microphone input terminal 11 with information stored in the storage devices 5 and 15. In addition, a speaker or the like may be added in order to output speech as well as images at the display 9. The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of input and output devices, or one apparatus comprising one such device. Needless to say, the present invention may be applied to a case in which the system or the apparatus is provided with a program for carrying out the present invention. The individual components shown in the outline or designated by blocks in the Drawings are well-known in the image display arts, and their specific construction and operation are not critical to the operation or best mode for carrying out the invention. While the present invention has been described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to these particular embodiments.

Claims: An apparatus for converting text data into sign language image data, comprising: image storage means (6) storing a plurality of image data components, each image data component corresponding to a sign language image component for a respective different one of a plurality of character codes; character code correspondence storage means (2) storing for each of the said plurality of character codes the respective address of the corresponding image data component in the image storage means; means for inputting text data comprising a sequence of character codes; text storage means (5) for storing the input text data; means (1) for sequentially retrieving from the image storage means (6) with reference to the addresses in the character code correspondence storage means (2) image data components corresponding to the sequence of character codes stored in the text storage means (5); and means (1,8) for generating image output signals corresponding to the sequence of retrieved sign language image components for supply to a display means (9), characterised by further comprising control means (1) arranged so that the image output signal generating means generates image output signals to cause the display means (9) to display the corresponding text data while displaying the sequence of sign language image components. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data components are motion picture images. An apparatus according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the image data components are stored in compressed form and said apparatus further comprises expansion means (7) for expanding retrieved image data components. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising a speech recognition device (13) for recognising speech inputted via a microphone input terminal (11) to generate text data. An image display apparatus comprising an apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim and a display means (9), wherein the image output signals are arranged to cause the display means (9) to display the text data together with the corresponding sequence of sign language image components. A method of controlling an apparatus to convert text data into sign language image data, said apparatus comprising: image storage means (6) storing a plurality of image data components, each image data component corresponding to a sign language image component for a respective different one of a plurality of character codes; and character code correspondence storage means (2) storing for each of the said plurality of character codes the respective address of the corresponding image data component in the image storage means, said method comprising the steps of: inputting text data comprising a sequence of character codes; sequentially retrieving from the image storage means (6) with reference to the addresses in the character code correspondence storage means (2) stored image data components corresponding to the sequence of input character codes; and generating image output signals corresponding to the sequence of retrieved sign language image components for supply to a display means (9), characterised in that in said generating step image output signals are generated effective to cause a display means (9) to display the text data while displaying the corresponding sequence of sign language image components. A method according to claim 6, wherein the image data components are motion picture images. A method according to either claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the image data components are stored in compressed form and the method further comprises a step of expanding the retrieved image data components. A computer program product comprising machine readable instructions for enabling a programmable apparatus to carry out a method according to any one of claims 6 to 8. A computer program product according to claim 9, programmed with data representative of a plurality of image data components, each image data component corresponding to a sign language image component for a respective different one of a plurality of character codes.

Inventors: HORII HIROYUKI, HORII, HIROYUKI, HORII, HIROYUKI, C/O CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicants: CANON KK, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1994
Main classification: G06F17
IPC codes: G06F17, H04N7, G09B21, G06T1, G10L15